Flame and Citron

 Throughout history, conquered nations have fought back against their oppressors. Guerrilla fighters, operating in small groups, have used murder, arson and other tactics -- criminal in times of peace -- to disrupt and harass the occupying forces. The Danes, like the French, the Dutch and others, put as much pressure as possible on the German Army, and a tense, first-rate story about one group and two individuals, "Flame and Citron," opens here today.

Ole Christian Madsen, director and co-writer with Lars K. Anderson, makes good use of newsreel clips to set his stage as German troops occupy Copenhagen, their jack-booted pace thundering through the streets. But many resistance groups fought them for the entire period of the occupation. One of them was sparked by our title characters, the red-headed Flame (Thure Lindhardt) and the dour, sardonic Citron (Mads Mikkelsen), whose preferred tactic was face-to-face assassination when it came to wreaking havoc among the Nazis, who were led by Christian Berkel, excellent as the SS commander.

Flame has a girl friend, the gorgeous Ketty (Stine Stengade) and Citron has a loyal wife, Bodil, who cannot handle the strain of his job. Madsen is light on analysis, but he puts things out there for the viewer to judge on his own.

The action occurs in the spring and summer of 1944, when the Allies are beginning to assert their strength, but in a small occupied state, like Denmark, the Germans still wield considerable strength. Madsen builds his story well, with considerable tension and conflict along the way, and both Lindhardt and Mikkelsen contribute superior acting.

Opens today at the Tivoli.

-Joe